Is Ontario Facing a Teaching Shortage?

The 905er Podcast

As reported by Global News earlier this month, an internal document to then Minister of Education Todd Smith states that the province could be facing a teacher shortage.

Too many teachers are leaving the profession with fewer new teachers joining their ranks. The Ministry of Education is predicting that as early as 2027 we could start seeing a gap in available teachers and the number of students. If this continues we could see an already burdened education system stretched to its limits.

The current Minister of Education Jill Dunlop says that this looming crisis will be addressed by dealing with absenteeism as well as shortening the time for teaching candidates to get in front of classrooms.

Our guest today though has a different viewpoint. Karen Brown is the president of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario. Previously she was on to discuss the issue of violence against teachers in the classroom. Today she joins us to expand on that topic and discuss why Ontario has enough teachers. Just the province isn't stepping up to the plate to make the profession attractive to the qualified.

Classroom Crisis: Ontario student, teacher disparity to ‘widen’ more, internal document warns

Previous Podcast: Karen Brown of ETFO Talks Violence in Our Schools

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